List of foreign-born NASCAR race winners

Last updated

This article lists NASCAR drivers born outside the United States who have won at least once in any of the top three series (NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, or Craftsman Truck Series). Overall, Australian Marcos Ambrose is the most successful foreign-born driver, in terms of wins, in NASCAR history, having won 7 times overall (2x in Cup, 5x in Xfinity). With his 1st cup win on June 12, 2022, Daniel Suárez became the first foreign-born driver to win on all 3 of NASCAR's national series, and the 35th driver in NASCAR's history to accomplish this feat.

Contents

NASCAR Cup Series

DriverWinsFirst winDate of first winTrack of the first winLast WinDate of last winTrack of the last win
Flag of Colombia.svg Juan Pablo Montoya 2 Toyota/Save Mart 350 June 24, 2007 Flag of California.svg Infineon Raceway Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The GlenAugust 8, 2010 Flag of New York.svg Watkins Glen International
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Marcos Ambrose 2 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen August 14, 2011 Flag of New York.svg Watkins Glen International Finger Lakes 355 at The GlenAugust 12, 2012 Flag of New York.svg Watkins Glen International
Flag of Mexico.svg Daniel Suárez 2 Toyota/Save Mart 350 June 12, 2022 Flag of California.svg Sonoma Raceway Ambetter Health 400 February 25, 2024 Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg Atlanta Motor Speedway
Flag of Italy.svg Mario Andretti 11 Daytona 500 February 26, 1967 Flag of Florida.svg Daytona International Speedway Daytona 500February 26, 1967 Flag of Florida.svg Daytona International Speedway
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Earl Ross 1 Old Dominion 500 September 29, 1974 Flag of Virginia.svg Martinsville Speedway Old Dominion 500September 29, 1974 Flag of Virginia.svg Martinsville Speedway
Flag of New Zealand.svg Shane van Gisbergen 1 Grant Park 220 July 2, 2023 Flag of Illinois.svg Chicago Street Course Grant Park 220July 2, 2023 Flag of Illinois.svg Chicago Street Course
1 Mario Andretti become a naturalized American citizen in 1964. His birthplace, known as Montona, Italy when he was born in 1940, is now known as Motovun, Croatia.

NASCAR Xfinity Series

DriverWinsFirst winDate of first winTrack of the first winLast WinDate of last winTrack of the last win
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Marcos Ambrose 5 Zippo 200 at the Glen August 9, 2008 Flag of New York.svg Watkins Glen International Zippo 200 at the GlenAugust 9, 2014 Flag of New York.svg Watkins Glen International
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ron Fellows 4Lysol 200June 28, 1998 Flag of New York.svg Watkins Glen International NAPA Auto Parts 200 August 2, 2008 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Flag of Mexico.svg Daniel Suárez 3 Menards 250 June 11, 2016 Flag of Michigan.svg Michigan International Speedway Ford EcoBoost 300 November 19, 2016 Flag of Florida.svg Homestead-Miami Speedway
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Larry Pollard 1 Busch 200 August 9, 1987 Flag of Virginia.svg Langley Speedway Busch 200August 9, 1987 Flag of Virginia.svg Langley Speedway
Flag of Colombia.svg Juan Pablo Montoya 1 Telcel-Motorola Mexico 200 March 4, 2007 Flag of Mexico.svg Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Telcel-Motorola Mexico 200March 4, 2007 Flag of Mexico.svg Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. 11 Sargento 200 June 23, 2012 Flag of Wisconsin.svg Road America Sargento 200June 23, 2012 Flag of Wisconsin.svg Road America
Flag of New Zealand.svg Shane van Gisbergen 1 Pacific Office Automation 147 June 1, 2024 Flag of Oregon.svg Portland International Raceway Pacific Office Automation 147June 1, 2024 Flag of Oregon.svg Portland International Raceway
1 Nelson Piquet Jr. was born in then-West Germany to a Dutch mother and Brazilian father. Piquet Jr. was raised in Brazil.

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

DriverWinsFirst winDate of first winTrack of the first winLast WinDate of last winTrack of the last win
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Stewart Friesen 3 Eldora Dirt Derby August 1, 2019 Flag of Ohio.svg Eldora SpeedyCash.com 220 May 20, 2022 Flag of Texas.svg Texas Motor Speedway
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ron Fellows 2 Parts America 150 August 24, 1997 Flag of New York.svg Watkins Glen Bully Hill Vineyards 150June 26, 1999 Flag of New York.svg Watkins Glen
Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. 2 VFW 200 August 18, 2012 Flag of Michigan.svg Michigan Smith's 350 September 29, 2012 Flag of Nevada.svg Las Vegas
Flag of Mexico.svg Daniel Suárez 1 Lucas Oil 150 November 11, 2016 Flag of Arizona.svg Phoenix Lucas Oil 150November 11, 2016 Flag of Arizona.svg Phoenix
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Raphaël Lessard 1 Chevrolet Silverado 250 October 3, 2020 Flag of Alabama.svg Talladega Chevrolet Silverado 250October 3, 2020 Flag of Alabama.svg Talladega

Combined Wins by Nationality

Of the 34 combined wins in NASCAR's top three national series by foreign-born drivers, Canadian drivers have combined for the most combined wins at 12 (

Key
BoldDriver has competed in one of the three national series in the 2024 NASCAR season
List of races won, by nationality of driver
RankCountryWinsDriver(s)No. of
drivers
1Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 12 Ron Fellows (6), Stewart Friesen (3), Earl Ross (1), Larry Pollard (1), Raphaël Lessard (1)5
2Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 7 Marcos Ambrose (7),1
3Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 6 Daniel Suárez (6),1
4Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 3 Juan Pablo Montoya (3),1
4Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 3 Nelson Piquet Jr. (3),1
5Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 2 Shane van Gisbergen (2),1
6Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1 Mario Andretti (1),1

See also

Related Research Articles

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in the world and is one of the largest spectator sports in America. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and his son, Jim France, has been the CEO since August 2018. The company is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. Each year, NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelson Piquet Jr.</span> Brazilian racing driver (born 1985)

Nelson Angelo Tamsma Piquet Souto Maior, also known as Nelson Piquet Junior or Nelsinho Piquet, is a Brazilian stock car racing driver and former Formula One and Formula E driver where he was champion in the 2014–15 season. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 33 Toyota Corolla E210 for Motul TMG Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hendrick Motorsports</span> American racecar team

Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 307 Cup Series races and 14 Cup Series owners and drivers championships to go with three Truck Series owners and drivers titles and one Xfinity Series drivers crown. Additionally, the team has 28 Xfinity Series race wins, 26 Truck Series race wins, and seven ARCA Menards Series race wins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Childress Racing</span> Auto-racing company

Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard Childress. In the Cup Series, the team currently fields three Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 teams: the No. 3 full-time for Austin Dillon, the No. 8 full-time for Kyle Busch, and the No. 33 part-time for Austin Hill and Will Brown. In the Xfinity Series, the team currently fields three Chevrolet Camaro teams: the No. 2 full-time for Jesse Love, the No. 21 full-time for Austin Hill and the No. 33 part-time for Kyle Busch. RCR has had at least one car successfully qualify for every Cup race since 1972, the longest such active streak, and is known for the longstanding use of the number 3 on its primary race car.

The Drive for Diversity (D4D) program is a development system instituted by the American auto racing league NASCAR. The program's purpose is to attract minority and female individuals to the sport, primarily as drivers, but also including ownership, sponsorship, and crew member roles, and to attract a more diverse audience to the sport. Before an applicant is accepted into the program, their resumes are checked by NASCAR officials. The system is similar to a driver development program where applicants progress through minor-league and regional racing levels to prepare them for a possible shot at one of NASCAR's three national series. The program was started during the 2004 season by NASCAR marketing executives in order to attract female and minority fans and drivers to the historically white and male-dominated sport. The year before, Joe Gibbs Racing, along with former athletes Reggie White and Magic Johnson, had started a similar program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JR Motorsports</span> American racecar team

JR Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, CARS Tour, and occasionally in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, co-owned by former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Kelley’s husband and former racer L.W. Miller, and the owner of his former Cup Series team, Rick Hendrick. As of 2023, the team fields four full-time entries in the Xfinity Series: the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro SS full-time for Sam Mayer, the No. 7 Camaro full-time for Justin Allgaier, the No. 8 Camaro full-time for Sammy Smith, and the No. 9 Camaro full-time for Brandon Jones. The team also fields the No. 88 Camaro part-time for Bubba Pollard, Carson Kvapil, Connor Mosack, Connor Zilisch, and team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The NASCAR playoffs, formerly officially known as the Chase for the Nextel/Sprint Cup, is a championship playoff system used in NASCAR's three national series. The system was founded as 'The Chase for the Championship' on January 21, 2004, and was used exclusively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2004 to 2015. Since 2016, NASCAR has also used the playoff system in the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Lally</span> American racing driver (born 1975)

Andrew J. Lally is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, driving the Audi R8 for Magnus Racing and part-time in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, driving the Hyundai Elantra TCR Touring Car for StarCom Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road America 180</span> NASCAR Xfinity Series race

The Road America 180 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that has taken place at Road America since 2010. The race has been a standalone race for the series except for in 2021 and 2022 when the NASCAR Cup Series had a race at the track on the same weekend as the Xfinity Series race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miguel Paludo</span> Brazilian racing driver

Miguel Paludo is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competes full-time in the Porsche GT3 Carrera Cup Series. Paludo formerly competed in NASCAR full-time in the Camping World Truck Series, driving for Red Horse Racing and Turner Scott Motorsports. He has won four championships in the Porsche GT3 Cup Series, with three in the Carrera Cup and the other (2017) in the Endurance Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Jones</span> American racing driver (born 1996)

Erik Benjamin Jones is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. His nicknames are EJ, his initials, and That Jones Boy, given to him by announcer Ken Squier. Until 2021, Jones had spent his entire NASCAR and ARCA career with Toyota, and while in their driver development program, he won the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. He would return to Toyota's NASCAR program in 2023 when Legacy Motor Club would switch their manufactural allegiance to them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cole Custer</span> American racing driver (born 1998)

Cole Matthew Custer is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 00 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. He is the son of Joe Custer, the team president of Stewart-Haas Racing. He is the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Suárez</span> Mexican racing driver (born 1992)

Daniel Alejandro Suárez Garza is a Mexican professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 14 Chevrolet Camaro for SS-Green Light Racing in partnership with Kaulig Racing. He previously drove in the NASCAR Toyota Series in Mexico for Telcel Racing, and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East for Rev Racing as a member of the Drive for Diversity program. Suárez is the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion with Joe Gibbs Racing, becoming the first Mexican to win a major NASCAR National Series championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Preece</span> American racing driver (born 1990)

Ryan Preece is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart–Haas Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series</span> 35th season of second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series

The 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 35th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the second-tier professional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started at Daytona International Speedway on February 20 and ended at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19. Daniel Suárez of Joe Gibbs Racing won the championship, becoming the first non-American to win a title in NASCAR's top 3 divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dash 4 Cash</span> Series of races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series

The Dash 4 Cash is a bonus program for race winners for designated races in a NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Since its inception in 2009, the program has undergone many changes, most notably the addition of heat races in 2016 for qualification for the bonus that were scrapped the following year.

References

  1. "All-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Winners". Jayski.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Racing Reference". racing-reference.info. Retrieved January 6, 2012.